Deadly border clashes escalate tensions between Pakistan and Taliban-led Afghanistan – NaturalNews.com

• Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government engaged in their most severe fighting since the Taliban took power. The overnight border conflict resulted in heavy casualties, with Pakistan reporting 23 soldiers killed and Afghanistan nine fighters, though both sides claimed to have inflicted much higher losses on the other.
• Following the violence, Pakistan sealed its major border crossings with Afghanistan. This drastic move halts nearly all trade and travel, stranding goods and people.
• The core of the conflict is Pakistan’s accusation that the Afghan Taliban is providing a safe haven for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Pakistan insists the TTP plans cross-border attacks from Afghan soil, a claim the Taliban government consistently denies.
• The timing of the clashes added to the tension, as they occurred during a high-profile visit by a Taliban official to India, Pakistan’s arch-rival. This fueled Pakistani suspicions of a coordinated threat, with its military accusing India of being a major sponsor of terrorism in the region.
• The fighting represents a dramatic breakdown in relations and signals a dangerous new phase for the region. The international community is alarmed, fearing that a sustained conflict could destabilize the entire area, creating a new epicenter for terrorism and refugee crises.

In a violent eruption of hostilities, dozens of fighters were killed in intense overnight clashes along the volatile Pakistan-Afghanistan border – marking the most severe fighting since the Taliban reclaimed power in Kabul.

According to official statements from both sides, the human cost was steep. Pakistan’s military reported that 23 of its soldiers were killed. The Taliban government in Afghanistan confirmed the deaths of nine of its fighters. However, each side claimed to have inflicted significantly higher casualties on the other, with Islamabad asserting it killed over 200 Afghan fighters and Kabul countering that it killed 58 Pakistani troops.

These figures could not be independently verified, but they underscore the ferocity of the engagement. The conflict nevertheless represents a dramatic breakdown in relations between the two neighbors and signals a dangerous new phase in regional instability.

The immediate trigger for the fighting appears to have been a series of Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. While Pakistan has not officially acknowledged these strikes, security officials and the Taliban government reported that they targeted areas in Kabul and a marketplace in eastern Afghanistan.

The Taliban responded with retaliatory attacks, with Afghan troops opening fire on Pakistani border posts late on Saturday, Oct. 11. Pakistan answered with gun and artillery fire, leading to a night of destructive exchanges.

In the wake of the violence, Pakistan took the drastic step of closing its major border crossings with Afghanistan. The two primary trade and travel routes at Torkham and Chaman, along with several minor crossings, were sealed shut. This 1,600-mile border, known as the Durand Line, is a contentious colonial-era demarcation that Afghanistan has never formally recognized.

The closure of these vital routes has immediate and severe consequences. It halts nearly all legal trade and transit between the two countries, stranding truckloads of goods, preventing people from seeking medical care or visiting family and further crippling an Afghan economy already on its knees.

This move is a punitive measure by Islamabad, designed to pressure the Taliban government by cutting off an economic lifeline. However, it also risks deepening the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Roots of a deep-seated conflict and a widening regional rift

To understand how these two neighboring Muslim countries reached this boiling point, one must look back at the complex history of their relationship. The current crisis is deeply rooted in the activities of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a separate entity from the Afghan Taliban but a close ideological ally.

The TTP, or Pakistani Taliban, was formed in 2007. Its emergence was a direct response to Pakistan’s military operations in its tribal border regions, which were conducted in support of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. For years, the TTP has waged a deadly insurgency against the Pakistani state, carrying out bombings and attacks on security forces.

The core of the current dispute is Islamabad’s firm accusation that the Afghan Taliban government is providing a safe haven for TTP militants, allowing them to plan and launch cross-border attacks with impunity. Pakistan has faced an intensified TTP offensive in recent months, with one report calling August the “deadliest month of militant violence in more than a decade.”

The Taliban government consistently and flatly denies that Pakistani militants are operating from its soil, creating an irreconcilable deadlock. This TTP issue has become the primary sticking point, poisoning a once-warm relationship. Pakistan, which has long been viewed as having significant influence over the Afghan Taliban, now finds itself in open conflict with the very group it was once accused of supporting.

The timing of the clashes has added a layer of geopolitical intrigue. The fighting coincided with a high-profile visit by the Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India, Pakistan’s arch-rival.

The announcement that New Delhi was upgrading its diplomatic ties with the Taliban administration was a clear provocation in Islamabad’s eyes, further fueling Pakistani suspicions of a coordinated threat. Pakistan’s military explicitly expressed concern about the timing, pointing a finger at India as the “biggest sponsor of terrorism in the region,” a charge the Hindu-majority nation denies.

The international community is watching with alarm. Nations, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, have issued calls for restraint, urging both sides to embrace dialogue. The fear is that a sustained conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan could destabilize the entire region, creating a new epicenter for terrorism and refugee crises.

For now, the heavy exchanges have mostly ceased, but intermittent gunfire continues in some areas. The border remains closed, and the rhetoric remains heated. The overnight battle is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a deep and festering wound.

As one expert warned, the long-term consequences are deeply worrying, threatening only to deepen existing animosities and plunge a troubled region into further chaos. The path back from the brink appears long and fraught with danger.

As explained by the Enoch AI engine at BrightU.AI, a severe border conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan is dangerous because the clash is not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of escalating border skirmishes since the Taliban took power, indicating a significant deterioration in relations. The high number of reported deaths and competing claims of inflicting greater losses create a “face-saving” scenario, making de-escalation difficult and increasing the risk of a cycle of retaliation.

Watch the video below from “Brighteon Broadcast News” as Health Ranger Mike Adams provides a full risk analysis of India launching a kinetic war against Pakistan.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

AlJazeera.com

CBSNews.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com